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[ 3.5 effects of jogging on Labor Day ]

May 1 is Labor Day, International Workers’ Day, May Day or whichever name is preferred. The last time I checked Labor Day was the first Monday of September in the US, whatever; we call May 1 Labor Day here in Singapore. We are aware of this day thanks to the long-awaited announcement of work and school day-off on national television channels, newspapers, websites, or the information regarding public holidays which is simply stored at the back of our head by the time we are born. Midweek day-off! Yippee!

I didn’t think too much and I thought May 1 was a good day to die hard (the most recent sequel is an “interesting” movie by the way) jog in the park. It indeed was, up till the moment my first few foot steps in my long-abandoned-but-still-new running shoes landed upon entering the park.

I expected groups of families hanging out in the park, people walking their dogs, and couples enjoying each other’s presence by the pond too small to be called lake. I indeed witnessed these scenes, up till the moment I realized that day was Labor Day. That translates to the fact that the blue-collar workers were also having a day off and there were so many of them that they made up almost 90% of the park population with damselflies, fish, frogs, and birds included in the population survey. That translates to the fact that they made up more than 95% of the human population in the park. I want to clarify that there is nothing wrong with that.

Backing out on jogging just because of the self-assumed intimidation by people who might not even intend to intimidate was totally not worth it, considering the amount of effort I put in in dragging myself out of my cozy room.

So I went on amidst some stares by the sides of the jogging track. I felt like a marathon runner who was about to reach the finish line and there were audiences at the sides cheering me on, except they fortunately didn’t really cheer. That brings me to my first point: jogging on Labor Day boosts your confidence.

I am having a study week right now for the upcoming final examinations which has proven to be unproductive and shouldn’t be labeled study week in the first place, really. Most of the stress is not coming from the pressure to do well but to distract myself from planning for the holidays following the exams. Jogging on Labor Day fortunately helps to relieve some stress. Besides the aforementioned frustration, I am easily annoyed by people’s eyes and thus am quite sensitive to the slightest degree of stare. I know I shouldn’t bother but to make things worse, the stare was often accompanied by unnecessary playful whistling. I could punch the person in the face if not for jogging. Jogging on Labor Day stretches your capacity to endure hardship.

Holidays, long or short, are meant for us to laze at home like a cat snuggling under the warm blanket or do what we enjoy doing. For the latter, it is eating feasting for me which is terrible. To atone myself of the sinful indulgence, I decided to burn off excessive calories however few. After all, shedding some water weights is better than piling up some fats, isn’t it? Jogging on Labor Day makes you feel better about yourself and your decision.

Wait, I have a confession to make.

If there were yet another person after the last person whom I could still stand staring and whistling, I wouldn’t be hesitant to punch the person in the face.